I have read about IT Band syn. before but have not encountered the site you posted. I didn't even think about the way I was compensating for slight tilts on the road. It makes a lot of sense now. I of course did not train on the exact road so i did not experience the slant of the road. During the race, I ran at the side close to gutter on the right side to steer clear of other people's way. That maybe a reason for the pain started on the right knee. to try lessen the soreness I shifted most weight to the left. (light bulb on) Thank you again for that informative site.

Thank you for the reminders. Those accomplishments was easily washed away when my knee pain took over and I did not complete the marathon. I do remember feeling so awesome and marvelous as my miles increased. I guess that is why I expected to do well on my first marathon. Thank you for your advice. I will celebrate the small accomplishments a long the way.

arlyno,

I'm finding myself having to take my own advice and celebrate my smaller accomplishments. I came down with an injury (PTT) the week leading up to my 20 mile long run and am unable to even complete the training cycle for what would have been my first marathon. I tried to gut it out and complete my run but the pain was enough to shut me down. I finished the scheduled run walking home with a noticable limp in front of all my friends and neighbors. I'm pretty bummed but:

I comfortably completed a long run of 18 miles!

I ran over 400 miles in my training cycle!

I found out that I can tolerate a lot more discomfort than I ever thought I could!

Yay! for all your hardwork and mileage! Our running journey is really all about self discovery. It is really too bad about your injury. I hope my injury is not contagious. =P. Is PTT serious that it will take a long time to recover from? Just wondering.

It also sounds like you might be ready for new shoes since you ran up to 400 miles already.

Update:After 2 weeks of getting myself together, I started to slowly running again. I have been working on the stability workout stuff too maybe it will fix my knee problems. I just want to thank you for sharing your experience and positivity. Take care and recover well

Yay! for all your hardwork and mileage! Our running journey is really all about self discovery. It is really too bad about your injury. I hope my injury is not contagious. =P. Is PTT serious that it will take a long time to recover from? Just wondering.

It also sounds like you might be ready for new shoes since you ran up to 400 miles already.

Update:After 2 weeks of getting myself together, I started to slowly running again. I have been working on the stability workout stuff too maybe it will fix my knee problems. I just want to thank you for sharing your experience and positivity. Take care and recover well

PTT (Posterior Tibial Tendonitis) is certainly not contagius. The recovery varies from person to person. PTT can often present with IT Band syndrome that others have mentioned in regards to your situation. I took five days off last week and came back feeling good but the pain returned so I'm erring on the side of caution so I can run a stronger race next time. I have three pairs of shoes that I rotate so they are still OK.

Just some input ' I am not a doctor but I´ve had a lot of experience with exercise injuries from my time as a competitive runner and in the army many years ago. Since you were getting pains in both knees, first one and then the other, it sounds like a couple of different things, but in the end it sounds like a biomechanical issue.

It is possible that there was either something about your shoe, your stretching or possibly the surface of the marathon route that was causing you some unaccustomed movement in your knee. Since the other knee started giving you pain later it might have either been the same cause - ie something about the surface, or that you started changing your stride due to the pain in one knee which then overstressed the other knee.

I´d suggest seeing a doctor who is experienced in sports medicine, and possibly going to a running store to be evaluated for shoes - the type of store where the people are knowledgeable about running, and watch you and possibly video tape you as you run on a treadmill. It can really make a difference.

¨Behind every victory lie thousands of hours of education and preparation,¨Lance Armstrong

You didn´t make it this time. That is sad but nothing is hurt unless you let this derail your future. Make this a learning experience, get back up and running and set your sights on another marathon. Get even more educated, chose your next marathon wisely and prepare for it even better. Kick it´s butt and walk across the finish line and get the ice for your drinks and your I FINISHED HE MARATHON goody bags. Then your bad experience will become the seed of your victory.

I tried to drop out of my first marathon at sixteen miles. My thyroid activity had been too high for three weeks leading up to race day. I had a great final long run before my taper, and everything fell apart after that. On race day, I was wiped out by ten miles. I do a lot of hill running, and this was a hilly marathon, but I was not prepared for the severe cant to the roads. I began to experience pain in my hip at the half, and by sixteen miles I felt as if my entire left side from waist to ankle had turned to hamburger. I stopped for help and called my husband, who told me to "just keep going." Yes, I still have pointed discussions with him about that. Walking actually hurt more than running. So I ran until the pain became unbearable, then walked until the pain was even worse, and then ran again.

It took me a long time to finish -- well over five hours. I was not pleased. The only upside to the experience was that I knew that I could go 26.2 miles. I also knew that odds were my time at my next marathon would be better. It would have been much smarter to stop, though.

thank you for your advice. I did recently see a sport medicine md and he said good news is my knees are fine on the xray. BUT i do have a slight anatomical indifference that explained why my knees hurt. He said many women have the same thing going with their knees. He advice me to slightly stretch the knee caps toward the center by first icing the side of my knee /knee cap then with a little force move knee cap to the opposite side. he said ice for 10 min then stretch for 2 min then ice again then stretch it again for a good month. He said i should feel a difference. It sounds really simple so i hope it works.

I also want to thank you for the encouragement. I will make it to that marathon finish line! someday....

It's ok for your 1st marathon to not go as planned. It was smart to stop when you did to prevent further injury. I had a bad 1st marathon experience also. I am not really a quick runner, but I'm not really slow either. My 5k pace averages around 7:30 per mile. I attempted my first marathon in December. My goal time was 4:20 with an ultimate goal of 4:00. In the training leading up to it, I developed achilles tendonitis. During training runs, it got to where as soon as I hit 8 miles, the pain set in.

During the marathon, that pain set in at mile 5, but I kept going. At mile 16, my heart rate got up to 195, and knew I'd better slow down for a little bit, so I started walking for a bit. After it got back to 170, I started running again. I didn't hydrate well for the race, and at mile 19, my hamstring started cramping. Every time I would get it worked out and start running, it would start cramping again after a couple of minutes, so I had to stop and repeat. Once I saw the finish line, adrenaline took over and I finished the last 1/4 mile very strong. According to my watch, I was averaging about a 7:00 mile pace for the last quarter mile. My chip time was just a few seconds over 4:30. However, as soon as I crossed the finish line, the pain set back in. I continued to walk/limp around the rest of the day so I wouldn't get stiff. The next week after that, my achilles tendon was throbbing, especially the day after. I had to take weeks off running before attempting to do any more.

I finally was healed 2 months later, so I started back running a week before the half marathon near my hometown. I actually set a personal best half marathon time, beating my old time by over a minute. Obviously, I still had some stamina left over. I've got races the next 7 out of 9 weeks, and after that I begin marathon training again. I've learned some exercises to prevent that injury from happening again, and I think I'll come back stronger and wiser. Fingers crossed that I do.